Is the body really short of calcium? It should be pointed out that calcium is not needed by everyone. The human body needs a certain amount of calcium (the human body can't produce calcium itself, but can only take it from the outside), and it only needs calcium supplementation when the intake is insufficient. The most objective indicator of calcium supplementation is to check blood calcium. If blood calcium is lower than the normal reference range, calcium supplementation is needed. Low bone density only means that calcium has been lacking in the past, and whether it is lacking now depends on the content of calcium in the blood.
Whether there is calcium deficiency in the body, the absorption and utilization of calcium by human body is a very complicated process, and consumption is greater than absorption, which is the basic reason of calcium deficiency. The absorption process is restricted by calcium intake, sunshine, physical activity and other nutrients (such as vitamin D), while the consumption process is affected by diseases and special physiological conditions (such as female pregnancy). Among them, the obvious factors affecting calcium intake are: avoiding food in infancy, anorexia, picky eaters, and not adding complementary food in time; Long-term smoking, excessive drinking, less time for skin to receive sunlight, and insufficient physical activity; Pregnant women, nursing mothers, over 50 years old (especially women); Insufficient intake of vitamin D, long-term use of thyroxine, adrenocortical hormone, aluminum, lithium, antiepileptic drugs, etc. Suffering from various gastrointestinal diseases, chronic liver disease, chronic nephropathy, bilateral ovariectomy, etc. When you want to supplement calcium, you must first remove or improve the above factors that lead to calcium deficiency, and calcium supplementation can be effective.
Is it necessary to supplement calcium for low bone density? Calcium is an important mineral to maintain normal bone density. Low bone mineral density is indeed a phenomenon of calcium deficiency, suggesting that calcium deficiency in the past and calcium deficiency now cannot be generalized. When the daily intake of calcium is less than 600 mg, especially for children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and the elderly who need more calcium than ordinary people, bones and teeth not only can't get calcium supply, but also use calcium to maintain their daily physiological needs, which leads to the decrease of bone mineral density. It should be noted that after the general population is about 30 years old, calcium is no longer absorbed into bones and teeth. Therefore, for people with low bone density, if they are under 30 years old, even if their blood calcium is within the normal reference range, they should appropriately increase foods rich in calcium, in addition to maintaining normal physiological needs, they should also make up for previous losses; Blood calcium is lower than the normal reference range, so calcium should be supplemented with drugs. If the population is over 30 years old and the blood calcium is not low, there is no need to supplement calcium. At this time, it is too late to correct the low bone density by supplementing calcium. Only people with low blood calcium need calcium supplementation.
Whether it is necessary to use drugs to determine the current calcium deficiency, but there are no symptoms, such as children crying at night, bald pillow, cramp, late fontanel closure, chicken breast, rib valgus, O-shaped or X-shaped legs, etc. Only take calcium from food, at the same time, get more sunshine and exercise, and don't use other drugs. Only in the case of calcium deficiency symptoms, drugs are needed to supplement calcium, but sunshine and exercise are also indispensable. (Health News)